Dunne

The Irish surname Dunne is the anglicized form of the Gaelic surname O’Duinn or O’Doinn. ‘Doinn’ is the genitive case of the adjective ‘donn’ which is Gaelic for ‘brown’. Therefore, this name was probably originally applied to one who had brown hair or who had a dark complexion. The Dunne sept originated in County Leix formerly known as Queen’s County and it formed one of the principal families of Leinster, their chief being lords of Iregan in Leix. The Dunnes were noted for their fierce resistance to English rule through the centuries. In modern times it is still in the Leix area that they are most numerous despite the fact that inner migration and outer emigration has dispersed the name far and wide. The prefix ‘O’ is rarely used now while the form Dunn is most numerous in Ulster.

Early references to this surname in Ireland include Gillananaohm O’Duinn (1102 - 1106), the historian and poet. James O’Dunne (1700 - 1758) was Bishop of Ossory and also distinguished himself in the service of France.

Notable American bearers of this surname include Finley Peter Dunne (1867 - 1936) a humourist who is famous for the creation of the character ‘Mr. Dooley’. It was in 1893, in the Chicago Evening Post that Dunne began his Irish American Dialogues with ‘Martin Dooley’, a saloon keeper.